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How Welfare Professions Contribute to the Making of Welfare Governance: Professional Agency and Institutional Work in Elder Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2021

KATHRINE CARSTENSEN ,
VIOLA BURAU Open the ORCID record for VIOLA BURAU [Opens in a new window] ,
HANNE MARLENE DAHL  and
ANDREAS NIELSEN HALD
KATHRINE CARSTENSEN
Affiliation:
DEFACTUM – Public Health & Health Services Research, Central Denmark Region, Aarhus, Denmark
VIOLA BURAU*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark, email: viola@ps.au.dk Department of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
HANNE MARLENE DAHL
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
ANDREAS NIELSEN HALD
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark, email: viola@ps.au.dk
*
Corresponding author. Viola Burau, Department of Political Science, Bartholins Allé 7, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark, email: viola@ps.au.dk
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Abstract

Welfare governance in elder care has undergone significant changes, but we know less about the processes and actors of making welfare governance. This is problematic, as the concern for process is a key strength of the welfare governance perspective. Based on a case study of elder care in Denmark, and drawing on studies of professions, the aim is to analyse how welfare professions contribute to the making of welfare governance. Our analysis shows that welfare professions bring unique resources into play. They have strong professional agency, drawing on both broader institutional roles and more specific professional projects. The institutional work itself is highly complex and the welfare professions combine not only formal and informal coordination, but also do so in ways that are closely tailored to specific contexts. The analysis makes important empirical and theoretical contributions to the study of welfare governance in elder care.

Keywords

Welfare professionswelfare governanceprofessional agencyinstitutional workelder care
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 51 , Issue 4 , October 2022 , pp. 900 - 919
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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